A Different Veiw of Him
by Watershatteredfireball
Summary: I don't own any Sonic character belonging to Sega/Archie. In Sonic X, instead of Eggman finding Shadow, Shadow finds the Thorndike home and Amy. Meanwhile, Sonic and Knuckles are taking care of Eggman's latest creation that is putting a freeze on everything. Rated T in case of any violence and there's no swearing. Amy will ensure that Shadow's mouth is censored :D
1. Shock

It was a typical day at Station Square. The birds were chirping as always and the clouds were beginning to show overcast. Everything had grown quite in the past week. The wind flowed over the rooftop of a certain tall mansion belonging to the Thorndike family.

A familiar high pitch voice yelled through the echoing halls, "Sonic! Hey Sonic!" Amy Rose's calls were made in vain however. There was no sign of his blue hide anywhere. Her arms folded in a huff and temper tantrum. _Where is he? We were supposed to meet Chris and his grandpa at the beach but he is nowhere to be found. Arragh who needs him anyways?_

She tried to call again, determined to ensure her favorite blue blur's arrival as agreed. Still there was no sign of him. The halls were as silent as ever and the air felt stiff from her useless bellowing. Looking down, her foot scuffed the ground, resembling an injured puppy _maybe I should leave without him…_

She then shook her head and said, holding out both fists, "No, he has to be here somewhere. But where?" Eyes facing up to the ceiling, index pressed against a cheek, she gave thought as to where she might not have looked. She checked the kitchen, the bedrooms, the roof, the tree outside, and even the living room. She then heard something tap against the door. Since everyone knew of their existence, there was no need to leave that to Ella or Mr. Tanaka. Forgetting that is supposed to be their job anyways, she leapt at the chance of answering it.

An almost ear shattering scream escaped her lips when at the door step was a strange, creepy familiar black hedgehog passed out on the floor, "Shadow, but that can't be."


	2. Stubborn as an Ox

The pink female creature paced the living room circular carpet in concern and worry. _Okay Amy, keep calm, keep calm, keep calm._ Her hands held each other, eyes focused on them _it is most likely just an Eggman trap to have us distracted._ The images of Shadow and Sonic's fight on the ARK rang through her fresh memory. Both heroes used chaos control but Shadow being able to tap into the chaos force more directly gave more than he should have. _As soon as I get a hold of Sonic and Tails maybe they could take a look at him._ An unexpected moaning sound reached her twitching ears, "Wha—where am I? How did I get here?" Like a vampire sitting out of his coffin, the black formerly unconscious hybrid sat on the couch.

No answer could escape her lips or any sound for that matter. It was shock to simply watch him return from the dead. Her finger lurked near her mouth looking baffled. "Hey you. Are you going to talk or what?"

Hands against the sides of her dress and mouth slightly hanging open, she only said, "Huh?" "If you are going to stand there like a fool then I won't bother wasting my time on the likes of you."

The hurtful and demeaning words of the mouthy thing tipped the hot coals of her temper and boy did it hit the roof, "Now just a minute. Don't expect me to talk to you with that sore attitude. Say you are sorry."

The eye lids of the stripped instigator closed halfway while he stood there glaring at this pink thing that dared to defy him, "Why you…" Growling under his breath, he then completely closed them in his high and mighty way, arms criss-crossed "Humph." His legs casually moved him away from her as though she were nothing but after three steps he was on the verge of collapsing.

Her temper then deflated as quickly as it came and her hand held out, "You are hurt. Please stay here or you will only land up more hurt." Supporting his weight with the wooden carved coffee table and couch cushion, he looked at her through one half-open eye, "No thanks. I had enough of your _help_."

This time it was her turn to look pouty and she calmly strolled to him in his helpless state. He glanced up at her through the same eye, curious as to her next move. Two hands pressed against his soft white chest and easily made his rear tumble onto the soft cushioned middle seat. Looking at her one more time, growling, she then turned back to him with the same amount of attitude, "Don't give me that. You're injured and need serious healing. When Tails comes back here with Chris and Grandpa they could look at you to find out what is wrong." Back leaned back and hands netted together he only looked at her viciously, refusing to give back an answer. Without question, it was a bitter staring contest that should be reserved for beastly dogs.

Being notorious for not only a flaming temper but a chatty mouth as well, she did not stay silent for long. Still holding her angry demeanor, she said, "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Silent as ever, he rolled his eyes and looked away from her, studying the window glass. In spite of it all, both looked nothing more than children throwing a temper tantrum.

Her creased brow smoothed over when a red spot oozed above his left eyebrow. _That is one spot that I know should not be red._ Stepping closer, her hand reached close to his head but stopped.

His head backed away, "What are you doing?" Hand frozen in position, she explained, "You look hurt. That cut on your head looks bad…" His head whipped around, "Humph. That is none of your concern and don't you forget it." Once again, he succeeded in angering the girl, "Excuse me for thinking about you at all. You creep!" Fists against her sides like a child, even holding her breath, she growled at him.

He flung his left leg over his other one, keeping his arms crossed. Holding that stone cold face, he thought _this is just great. Not only am I weak, my ability to chaos control is locked by something. As soon as I figure out what, I am out of here._

A young boy's voice called out, "Hey, Amy, are you here?" Her attention was snapped away from the rude boy before her to the twelve year old who entered the living room, "Hey Chris, what's up?" The boy filled with worry, asked, "Where have you been? Did you find Sonic?" Suddenly remembering her purpose in staying behind at the residence, she looked ashamed and muttered, "Oh yeah, that's right," her hands slapped her cheeks, "I totally forgot!" The child's eyes looked ready to pop out of his face, "You mean you can't find him?" In the midst of their conversation, Shadow sat on the couch listening to them like a camouflaged owl.

Amy jumped off her seat and said, "No, I looked all over the house. I can't think of any place that I have not looked." The black hedgehog sighed and turned to face the opposite direction. Chris placed his finger near his cheek, "Man I wish he had a cellphone. We would be able to call him and know exactly where he is. Maybe he is…" it was then when his eyes wandered to the couch and happened upon what reminded him of a ghost. Perhaps it was because it seemed so unnatural for someone declared dead to come back again. His eyes shot wide open and the pupils shrank, "S—shadow? Is that…" The cold stricken quickster turned to face him, eyeing him in an unpredictable manner. A gloved pink hand tapped the boy's sleeve, "Um, Chris, you okay?" The boy did not answer right away. His bright blue eyes looked worried into the red burning ones.

It was interesting the way Shadow glanced at him. It was even possible that his memory did not die with him on the ARK. If that were so, then the amnesia stricken insectivore knew that Chris was somehow involved with restoring a small portion of his memory. For that he had something to be thankfully about. Instead of smiling and giving thanks however like most people would, he only looked to the window once again. _Maria…why…why did you have to suffer such a cruel death at the hands of humans? I know you wanted me happy but this…will never work out without you here with me._

All at once, Amy felt sympathy for him. The way he constantly stared in the distance and the emptiness in his eyes made it seem like something was not there. She wanted to reach out to him but felt like she must hold back on this one. Even Sonic and Knuckles do not require this much space. He has to be treaded carefully. The tips of the black hedgehog's hair stiffened and without moving his head, his ruby eyes turned to hers and then narrowed. Already he could sense her sympathy and felt great distain. She was beneath him, the great mighty ultimate life form. There was nothing that she could offer to allow him to accept her emotions, besides there was none for him to offer.


	3. A Frozen Catastrophie

Meanwhile, a familiar, but well-known and lovable blue hedgehog roamed the speedy highway. Strange thing was he did not race the other vehicles, despite how much he cherished the thought. Instead, he sat up in a pine tree, "Ah—Ah—Ahchoo!" Finger rubbing nose, he sucked the air through a clogged up breathing hole, "Man this cold stinks." Another sneeze came out, "Hope this blows over before Eggman gets a whiff of this. Must be nice to smell anything at this point," another one came. _If this keeps up, you'd think my brains would blow out._

Unbeknownst to him Eggman was parked nearby in one of his latest hideouts, plotting on using the highway to make business for himself.

"Doctor, how much longer?" Behind him, Decoe and Bocoe carried a large metal block. Growling at his overworked minions, he yelled, "Quiet you bag of bolts! One more word out of you and it's the junk heap for the both of you!" Standing upright, hands on hips, his finger pointed at the dirt patch before them, "Place it over there." "Yes doctor." "Now be careful with that. That is very fragile equipment that took me all week to make. Keeping quiet while making your tools of destruction isn't that fun you know."

Boecon buzzed over the overgrown refrigerator, "What do you plan on doing with this Dr. Eggman?" The lens set in his glasses reflected the sun's light and his face darkened as he said, "Stick around and you'll find out." Wrapped neatly around the lever's knob, his fingers dug into the plastic handle and eagerly pulled, excited about his next diabolical scheme being put to the test. The cars that were peacefully cruising over the hard cement were put to a sudden stop. Anything that touched it, suddenly could not remove their selves from the frozen surface. Encased in cold solid ice, nothing could budge.

Making his trademark weird Eggman laugh, he said reassuringly, "Let's see that speedy little fur ball stop me now." Looking across the highway in total satisfaction, he smirked, "As soon as his speedy sneaks so much as touch the icy highway, his feet will be permanently stuck to the floor like a fly on fly paper, hohohoho. Now back to business," he climbed into his eggmobile and pulled out a microphone.

Flying high over the unfortunate citizens, he said, "Greetings citizens of Station Square, soon-to-be citizens of the Eggman Empire, I have an announcement to make. Those who wish to be free to drive back home safe and sound must pay a fee." One man poked his head out of a car window, "How much?" "I would like to have your engines and doors if you do not mind." The people looked at one another, panicked. One said, "How are we supposed to drive home with no engine." "I have an appointment with the doctor in half an hour. Bobby is sick." "Can someone call a taxi?" "What are we supposed to do go on foot? We need to drive!"

With a wide creepy smile, the crooked professor said waving his finger, "Not to worry that has all been taken care of." Rolling his hand into a fist, he slammed it onto the red button in his mobile. Two tentacles popped out through slots in his machine to snag an old couple out of their car and threw them into a bush. The old man lifted himself up and went to support his wife back on her feet. The mad scientist looked at all the other people, who were next in line to be tossed out of their seats and into the dirt.

Where Sonic sat, still oblivious to everything because of his clogged ears, his pinky tried to rub the inside of his ear as he always did when bored. It suddenly felt colder than normal. Arms wrapped tightly around each other, he shivered, "I—it looks like I'm starting to get chills. M—may—ay—b—be I sh—should go—go for a run." Even with his bad hearing, the chattering of his teeth could be heard. Blowing hot air into his hands, he rubbed them together.

Standing up, he realized that he would never get anywhere by sitting. If he said he was going to run, he had better run. Shifting into ready position, he transformed into a blue blur and streaked across the country side. Lucky for him, he decided to not use the cemented path.

Along the way, he heard someone yell at him, "Hey Sonic!"

Skidding to a halt, wind blowing through his blue spines, he backtracked to the caller. Stopping on a dime, a grumpy cross-armed echidna stood in his way. The blue hedgehog smiled closing his eyes and held out his hand, "Hey Knux, what's up?"

The red echidna raised his eyelids and said, focusing on current business, "Did you see Eggman?" The blue hedgehog blinked for an entire interval, "Eggman?" "So you didn't see him, that figures. He just flew pass here laughing." "What is he up to?" His friend shrugged, "How should I know. Anyways…" Another explosive sneeze flew through his nose and Knuckles on impulse shielded his clean fur with his arm. Peeking past his arm to ensure the cost was clear, he said, "Caught a cold huh?"

A finger rubbed the bottom of Sonic's nose, "This stinks. How am I supposed to fight while I'm sneezing my head off?" "Don't be such a baby. It's not like you have never been sick before. Now come on, we've got Eggman to hunt." Arms hanging along his sides and eyes partly open, Sonic watched his confident friend walk away with a proud puffed up expression, "Lead the way…" The sarcastic sickly blue blur dragged his arms across the grass.

Knuckles stopped by a cliff, one hand clenched in an eager fist, "Come on Sonic, you're falling behind." He then turned around and saw a scraggly blue hedgehog that looked as though he had no sleep for days. The friendly nemesis looked at him in concern, "Hey you doing alright? You don't look too good."

The sleepy hedgehog looked up at his friend like one does when he is drunk and then swayed back and forth until he collapsed. Annoyed at their current situation, Knuckles felt fur tingle up his spine. The bad doctor was close and with Station Square's hero unconscious, the blue fuzz ball is vulnerable to attack.

"Mwahaha, why Knuckles how nice of you to drop by and oooh with a present nonetheless," the red guardian turned around to face Eggman holding both fists close to his body, the echidna was all set and ready for a fight. A growl emitted from the feisty Mobian's breath, "Eggman. What do you want?"

Down below, the street filled with cars and people frozen to the highway caught his naturally miffed attention. His eyes widened in horror at what happened to these innocent people and all no doubt for some stupid game. Eyes raging in anger, he snarled at the mad doctor, "What's the deal with all those people? You had better give a good explanation."

The scientist smirked menacingly. He had another sap to do his dirty work for him. All that was needed was a convincing sap story to make him believe that it is being done for the greater good. Knuckles gave another growl. The more time that he had spent on the surface, the better, he knew that smirk. No doubt he was planning on doing something dirty but what was still mysterious.

Still growling, he felt something touch his foot. Glancing down, he saw Sonic nearby. One eye peeked open and looked at him. It was not anger but trust. He felt confident that his best friend was going to choose right and not make a mess of everything.

Eggman next dramatically placed his hand against his temple, "It is terrible really. Parts of my ship have been dissolved through time and over use. Looking for a solution to my problem, I researched what would make a good supplement. Finally, I arrived at a conclusion. The humans in this world are fascinated with machines and technology is everywhere. Cars in particular become updated each approaching year and therefore provide the best material for my sophisticated machines."

The story sounded plausible, but before the trusting guardian gave in, he had a sinking feeling. If that were all that Eggman needed, then why did he not buy the items that he needed like a normal person. It was not as though none of the humans fell for him becoming a new man before. He then looked at the people on the side who were thrown out of their vehicles. There was no way a kind hearted man would do that. Eggman was trying to trick him again.

Infuriated that the same stunt was being pulled on him like a fool, his fists shook, "Eggman…" With a challenging face, he yelled, "you are going down!" The villain chewed on his four fingers, wondering what he should do. Once angered, there was no stopping Knuckles.

Angered, Knuckles leapt into the sky and Eggman made a retreat. Like a star lit in the sky, he was gone. Landing down, the echidna came inches to landing on the giant ice land. Sonic gathered up the strength he had left and slowly lifted his heavy weight. Feet on ground, he walked to the cliff's end to look at his friend. The lone guardian glanced up and saw his buddy lift his hand in a thumbs-up. He did well.

Sonic raced down, trying his best to not fall. He too stopped in front of the destruction. Knuckles looked down when he lifted his feet at the sound of rapid freezing. The chunk of dirt that was accidently kicked onto the road froze solid. He then looked at the hedgehog, "Uh, Sonic…" No chance was given to him to speak. A cloud of dust already replaced the speedy hedgehog. _Great. This is just perfect. Anything that touches this ice freezes solid. What am I to do about all these people?_


	4. Mysterious Saviour

As the blue hedgehog ran onto the frozen road, he noticed ice trying to form over his feet. The more he traveled, the further it was spreading. Whatever was needed to be done here had to be done fast. He had no time to lose. Lucky for him, his speed was slowing it down. Speeding everywhere, he carried the people to the ground where they will not be glued and as for those who were unfortunate enough to be already in that state, he quickly thawed out the ice by running around them. The friction from his fast paced feet melted the ice and he pulled the trapped citizens free.

Knuckles, not wishing to be left out on the fun, looked for a way for him to rescue the people. Close to his side was a long log. Lifting it up like a paper towel roll, he held it up to the people in their car seats, "Climb on!" The family seated in the forerunner glanced at one another and one by one listened to their rescuer. Once they were on non-frozen ground, he turned the trunk to the others who needed help. _What a mess. That Eggman is going to pay for what he did. I wonder what is causing all of this._

The same thought crossed Sonic's mind. The machine that Eggman brought must be still running. He looked down at his blurry feet. They were almost part of the icy scenery. _I just need to hold up for five more minutes. Where is he hiding his machine?_ Suddenly, he heard an explosion. Taking off in that direction, he had found that machine as well as a shadowed figure. It then took off.

Mystified by their savior, he stood where he was wondering if he should follow. Perhaps maybe he should. They still needed to thank their rescuer after all. One foot attempted to move but it refused to budge. A single glance down at his frozen feet told him that he was going nowhere any time soon.


	5. Reluctant Patient

Still trapped in the circus tent, Shadow the hedgehog seemed physically calm in his usual way. However mentally he was repeating the words _chaos control_ but to no avail. Nothing seemed to work. Tapping his fingers impatiently on the couch's armrest, he supported his cheek in his cupped hand. _Why won't it work?_ At this point, the dignified hedgehog was not sure how much longer he could listen to the bratty kid go on about how he thought he died and was glad that he had returned or even the pink hedgehog's concern over her disappeared boyfriend. The fact that neither left the room was the whole reason why he was sick of their presence. It was bad enough that his locked powers and weakness forced him to sit through this or even worse, lie down through it all. Pulling the pillow out from under him, he covered his highly sensitive ears. _If there was ever a time that I regret hearing everything, now would be that time._

Gritting his teeth, he obtained high hope that the whole room would just can it for the rest of the afternoon but that would be wishful thinking. Amy then stopped feeling sorry for herself when she noticed that he was still not enjoying himself. Not even the slightest smile would show. _Maybe there is something that could be done to cheer him up. I wonder what he likes._ She then recalled the injury over his eye and left to enter the kitchen.

The male hedgehog watched her curious about why she was going on about her boyfriend and then got up and left shutting up. As thankful as he was that there was added silence, curiosity was getting the better of him. Chris noticed him shifting out of his seat and of all things crawling on his knees and using any nearby furniture to make his way to the kitchen. Being high speed, he was somewhat able to approach it at a healthy speed. The only flaw was it was his injuries made it an average human's speed. "Shadow, what are you doing?" Ears twitching, he turned his head to look at the kid and quickly snapped, "Can it." Heeding the child no further attention, he peeked through the door.

Amy was talking a plump cheerful woman, "Ella, would you happen to know where the first aid kit is?" The Jamaican servant tapped her cheek, "Hmm, I know it is someplace around here." Her creased eyebrows smoothed as the rest of her face lit up, "Ah, now I remember. It was put up here." Pulling up a stepping stool, the maid opened two covered doors above the fridge, revealing a white pack decorated with a red cross.

The whole time Shadow looked annoyed _I don't any stupid first aid. This girl is an idiot to think that I need her help._ His body cringed in pain as he moved his arm forward but that is what one gets for falling through the atmosphere and onto the ground.

Shadow remembered how for days he was flat on his back unable to move. When feeling returned to his limbs and the bleeding marks grew back into solid flesh, he tried to stand but the injury in his limbs made it still a hard task. He was limited to short running followed by tumbling and possible face plants. He thought it would never end until he passed out in the middle of the woods. The next thing he knew, he woke up on the couch. Somehow he was taken there.

 _Is it possible that she brought me here? I do not see why. What does she hope to gain from doing this?_ A thought came to mind that she might be doing this so then he would owe her a favor. That sounded like good logic. He was after all very powerful and as he recalled, when Eggman saved him from suspended animation, he offered to grant him a wish. Now that he was done with that fool, he was stuck with this one.

Amy opened the kit on the table to ensure that everything that was needed was present. Nodding in satisfaction, she picked it up and turned to the exit. Eyes grown wide and ears stiff like a puppy listening to a gun shot, he realized that he will be in her eyeshot soon unless he moved. Taking no chance, injuries or no injuries, he leapt onto the couch leaving a gust of wind.

Oblivious to the mischievous hedgehog's doings, the pink girl sat down next to his side and opened the emergency kit. Taking a damp clean cloth, she held it in front of him, "Now hold still. This might sting." Slightly ducking his head, his response was "Peh, I don't need help."

Because he was being so difficult, she reached out and snatched his wrist. She then touched his bleeding brow and wiped away the blood and any other filth, "Now let's see if there are any more cuts that need cleaning…" Shadow cannot help but feel weird being held by a girl like this and abruptly pulled his captivated hand away.

The longer she stared at his dark fur, the more visible his most hidden and secret injuries became. She then leaned closer to the annoyed boy and dabbed any other cuts. Apparently there was a ton close to his legs and stomach _how is he even breathing? You would think that all this bleeding would cause him to bleed out._ Moving forward to those gashes and extra red lines, she wiped them clean with her wet cloth. Next she pulled out some bandages and when she turned her head to face him, he was gone.

Mouth at first dropped in a clueless position, her eyes veered right to see Shadow lying down by the door frame, inching his way along the ground, pulling his weight with anything in his path. Sucking in her breath, trying to ignore how annoying her patient was becoming, she stormed over to him. The moment he saw her approaching him looking so peeved, he tried to move faster. Being injured however, that plan was quickly shot of the water. A pair of two hands itching to strangle him snatched his arms. Then she hurriedly wrapped the bandages around his arms, legs, and stomach. Next she hauled him to the couch, "Stay!" As grumbly as he was, he was given no choice but to comply with the demanding hedgehog.


	6. New Plan

All the people on the road were now freed of the ice and knew of a certain blue hedgehog that saved them. Knuckles watched each of them full aware that he would never be noticed for any heroics that he would do no matter what he does. Sonic has his own way of being flashy while taking care of trouble, whether he knows it or not.

One small child, holding his mother's hand asked, "Hey Mom, what happened to Sonic? I saw him a little while ago but now I don't see him." Another middle-aged man said, "Now that he mentions it, I haven't seen him either. What about you Frank?" His pal next to him shook his head, "Nope. I have not seen him since he pulled me and my wife out of our car." The people gradually grew into a panic. Their great hero has disappeared.

Knuckles thought there was probably nothing to be concerned about. Sonic has a strange way of showing up and leaving whenever he felt like it. Knowing him, he had no doubt seen something interesting and went to check it out. Shrugging he walked away _I had better search for the rest of the emeralds. The sooner we find them, the sooner we get home. I don't care who finds it so long as we could reproduce chaos control to send us home._

Taking his leave, the lone echidna had set out to once again look for the seven keys to a safe passage home. Along the way through the uncivilized woods, wreckage of Eggman's freezing machine began to show. Pieces of blasted metal were caught in several places like the tree branches or in between giant rocks. His sharp eyes next happened upon where the blast was fired and a great big burned hole in a good sized metal chunk. Crouching down next to it, his hand touched something made of the sort of cloth that people wear in their uniforms. It dangled on the metal's sharp edge.

Snagging it off the metal, he carefully unfolded it. On the label was an image of a purple flame with an arrow piercing through it. _This image…_

Peering up, more pieces of destructed robot laid before him. Still clutching that cloth, he figured that since it could be a clue to the identity of the attacker he should hang onto it. Whoever did this was not Sonic.

He then heard a grunting sound come from behind the bushes. Pulling aside the leaves and branches, they revealed Sonic attempting to pull his limbs free. Sighing, he muttered, "Hedgehogs…"

After much pulling, Sonic became annoyed with the ice and vibrated his body so fast that he materialized through the captivating ice. In a blink of an eye, he performed a backflip onto the non-frozen grass. Stomping a couple times on the ground, it was evident that his legs were no longer trapped.

Like a lighten bolt, he sped around the highway, wondering at the same time how he could get rid of the ice. The spots that he melted with his speed had already frozen over. There was a good chance that Tails would be able to tell him the answer. He was a scientific genius after all. Picturing this as an unfailing plan, he raced to Station Square, careful to avoid the fast freezing cement.


	7. Troubled Heart

The _Tornado_ was as clean as a whistle and gave great pride to its awesome two-tailed owner. Tails gave it one last check. It seemed that it did not need any more tuning, the oil level was great, and there was not a scratch on its perfectly painted surface. It was the image of a mechanical angel.

His hand dragged across its smooth blue shell, "Well, _Tornado_ , it looks like we have survived another battle with Eggman. Maybe tomorrow I will add another upgrade." Curling his hands into fists, they stretched in opposite directions. The pup had let out a large yawn. _Boy I'm tired. Last night was sure exhausting_.

As he proceeded to exit the garage, he bumped the light switch to darken the garage once more. Someday soon, his plane shall once more soar. There was nothing like flying. The way the wind dragged through his fur and filled his big fluffy ears, the condensed view of the far off world, and the thrill of making the right turns at the precise time could never be compared to anything different. He was a born pilot and inventor. If there was anyone who felt a passion in his work, Tails would be it.

He then went to check on Amy, recalling that he was told that she discovered Shadow at their door step. The thought that there was no possible way for the Ultimate Life Form to survive a fall through the atmosphere, sent shivers up and down his spine. Then again, no one knew anything about this strange hedgehog. For all they knew, Professor Gerald might have created a new species altogether that coincidently resembled Sonic. They both shared the same build, facial structure, speed, and connection to the chaos force. The differences between the two, next to their personalities, were the color, other abilities like strength, and hair styles. All-in-all the theory that they might share the same ancestry is not that far off. Look-alikes usually have a tendency to be somehow related. In the two rivals' case, that common ancestry was most likely quite distant.

Focused on current matters, Shadow was still in the living room, reclined on the couch as though there was nothing interesting in the room. Eyes shut closed, hands neatly folded into each other, back completely sunk into the cushioned seat, and ears occasionally twitching. He was the perfect picture of a lazy tired lion that should be left to his sleep.

Supported by his tip-toes, the orange kid genius made his way to Amy, who was wiping the precipitation from her forehead sitting on the coach next to 'sleeping lion.' The ten-year-old whispered, "Has Sonic shown up yet?"

Shaking her head, she answered with the question, "You mean he has not returned?" Like a fire cracker, she sprung onto her feet, a truly scared appearance scattered along her countenance, "Oh Tails what if something did happen to him?"

The sudden thump of her feet caused the black grump to look through his slit eyelids. The pink fur ball babbled on, "He could be hurt," she clenched her hands in fists throwing them up and down, "We have to go and save him."

Tails held his hand out offering his theory, "I don't know, Amy. He might be taking his sweet time. You know how Sonic hates being tied down to appointments."

Unable to dispute that fact, the poor girl looked away _that's right. There was a never time when he came because he was ordered or invited. He only comes if he chooses. Maybe I am too worried._ Her head remained facing down and her feet were lightly brushing away dust.

The black hedgehog only watched her, unable to determine her true nature. One moment she was chatty, the next she turns into a raging volcano, and presently she seemed to be a bit depressed. She was an interesting creature indeed. Not someone worth speaking to, but interesting to observe nonetheless.

A loud ringing slam was clearly shot through the room and the Rose girl whipped her head around in time to see her potential lover, "Sonic!" Leaping from her spot, her arms flung comfortably around his neck in a death-like grip. There on the couch, unseen, the experiment decided that he was uncomfortable watching this scene and turned away. As he recalled, Sonic was a fake that dared to defy him, the Ultimate Life Form. To see the strange pink hedgehog go crazy over him seemed distasteful.

Not desiring to die through suffocating, Sonic attempted to push away his fan girl, "Take it easy, Amy."

The words he said had no effect on hers. Her one tract mind was solely focused on seeing him in one piece. One second he vanished like a phantom, the next he was standing before her very much solid. There was not a reason why she should not show some compassion. All that mattered was his precious safety.

Her tears flowed down her cheeks and through his soft blue fur, "Oh, Sonic, I was so worried. Where were you this whole time?" Angered feminine emerald eyes burrowed into his energetic green lime ones.

Always feeling on the spot, the speedy blue blur knew not what must be said. Every time he has put it off but to tell a good friend that the feeling was not mutual worried him to no end. If perchance she should take it the wrong way and feel hurt beyond repair, he will never forgive himself. For now, he must wait for the right time and place. _But how much longer must she wait?_

One could compare him to the wind, never steady and constantly looking for the right place to settle. Someday the right girl will pop out and hit him like lightening.

"Hey, Sonic, what happened? Did you go for a run again?" Tails said behind the hedgehog couple. Thankful to be saved by the young boy genius, Sonic jumped at the chance of recruiting him.

Leaping out of Amy's deadly tight grasp, he landed four inches in front of the two tailed wonder boy, "You could say that—Ahchoo!" Another sneeze blasted through his nostrils. As Sonic sucked in some air, Tails looked at him worried, "Are you feeling okay, Sonic? You don't look that healthy."

Waving him off, Sonic assured him, "Yeah, I'm alright." Moved next to his best pal, he placed a confident hand on his shoulder, "Hey, bud, think you could help me take care of a problem caused by Eggman?"

The fox blinked at incredibly, "Eggman? You mean that you saw him?" The blue hedgehog nodded, "You had better believe it."

Amy Rose looked horrified, "You mean that you fought that creep while you were sick?" Sonic shrugged, eyes closed away from her as though it were nothing. Sucking her breath, she simmered, "Oh, you make me so mad!"

Fear of a reintroduction with her hammer took hold of his actions and he took a backwards leap. One foot difference probably would do nothing to stop her, but it was better than standing within arm's length.

Harboring no will to crush him on the spot the only thing Sonic had to fear was her glare. Smothered with fire and lightening, there was a strange hint of sadness illuminating through them. Her outburst had more to it than his fight when ill.

Tails interrupted his line of thinking, "So what is the plan?" His twin tails wagged in anticipation. Reluctantly looking at his long-time buddy, he answered, "Um right, the plan…" Leading Tails away, he told him about his run in with the mad doctor.


	8. Learn from Her

Alone in the room, Amy Rose kicked an imaginary stone, hands shyly pinned behind her back. Doing his best to block out the conversation, Shadow the hedgehog could not help but notice that her encounter with Sonic was strange. It was love freely given to the blue hero with no merit for her. She was willing to risk all for one who loved her not.

What was the dilemma was no concern of his. He was merely observing. His wandering gaze lasted on her for a mere minute. There was no way that he would comfort her. She had brought this on her own self by throwing her will to Sonic. Playing a sap, willing to be second fiddle to that mangy fake held no appeal to him. He decided to occupy his attention with other interesting objects, if any could be compared with her.

Not in the mood to stand like a fool in Shadow's standards, Amy moved away from the living room.

Chris had to leave, unable to help his friends because of school, making Shadow truly alone. Sonic the Numbskull took no note that Shadow sat on the couch the whole time. The life form had the tendency to stay quiet and unseen in the most unusual places. No matter how much in the open he was, he knew how to meld into the scenery.

In the midst of his sulking, his curious hand tapped the bandage placed around his cut arm. The touch of her caring fingers was fresh as well as her odd scent. Lingering in his nose were roses and garden soil from no doubt years of handling plants. The rose girl was apparently fascinated with gardening. No thought to his movements, his mended arm rose to his nose.

The soil scent smeared within the white specialized cloth was previously on her gloves but the scent of flowers was not. It was possibly her natural aroma. She was a fascinating creature indeed. Surely there something about her that was unveiled, a side that she felt inclined to hide forever from the senses of all earth dwellers.

Slowly dropping his arm, he realized that for one minute he felt concern for another, the adorer of his rival nonetheless. It was a great blow to his ego but perhaps the greatest lesson that he could ever deserve. He finally saw a glimpse of the necessity of caring for one another. The door to his frozen heart was slowly creaking open. With the right tools applied, he might fully recover it from the depths of tragic memory lost.


	9. Meeting with a Stranger

The sun was ready to sink beneath the bleeding sky and still no sign of a single chaos emerald. This did not set well with Knuckles, champion of Angel Island. He who never lost the master emerald lost it to a chaos control that Eggman and Sonic caused with their squabble. If it were not for Sonic's recklessness in making the doctor slip up, he would never have failed the island.

He swore his father several years ago to never let the majestic gem fall into the wrong hands. Unwilling to become its protector, his father pushed him into becoming the ultimate guardian.

Not bad many would say? Young Knuckles thought so as well eight thousand years ago as a tiny echidna. But throughout his training, starting from the age of three, he came to know fighting, strategizing against enemies, and specialized guardian moves but was a stranger to fun and games. Abandoned at ten years of age because he finished his training, he had no one to look up to, no one to tell him that he was loved. His training would have begun at the age of ten and ended in his twentieth year had his father not been so strict.

Wanting to make his father proud of him, even though Locke was dead, Knuckles did all in his power to never leave the emerald's side. If he slept, the shrine was his bed. When the need to scavenge for food rose, the bushes next to the shrine were his rations.

The emerald became his companion, a constant reminder of his disappeared father. Never to know the secret behind Locke's vanishing, he had to keep moving along the river of life.

Sensing the amount of wasted hours caused through sitting and lingering in the past, Knuckles stiffened up and resumed his hunt. If it becomes too dark, he must find shelter. Perhaps the hollowed tree he passed would make adequate nighttime quarters.

The darkness was closing in and Knuckles continued to move. He will rest later. So long as energy stayed in his muscles, he will not give up on the return trip home.

Ten more feet away from his initial footing, Knuckles checked every corner of his surroundings. Nothing like an emerald showed up, not even behind the most twisted branches. Maybe if he backtracked he could see if his guardian senses missed anything. He was trained to sense chaos energy after all, even use it if really stuck. It has been so long however. Most of his knowledge on the chaos force was forgotten.

A twig snapped into two separate clean pieces. It was proof that he was not alone in the silent forest. Turning around, dragging his dreadlocks through the air, the tough echidna was prepared for the fight to the bitter death. "Alright, who's there? You had better come on out," each word flowed under his hot breath longing for water.

A response was absent and the echidna did not like it. He barked, "What's the matter? Are you yellow?" A challenging smirk crawled over his face, "If you tell me who you are, I might not hurt you."

A sudden, but expected, increase in the moving branches eventually produced a dark figure. Everything about this stranger was covered with black. It wore a black cape and a dark suite that perfectly fitted around its figure. The figure that he beheld was a woman. What business she had here, he had to find out.


	10. Forgotten Tragity

Nighttime approached as an invitation for Amy, who was tired of playing heart games. Her emotions could no longer bear the burden of the day's disappointments. Perhaps tomorrow her lifelong crush will see her in a different light. He had to after all they have gone through, adventuring and fighting the mad doctor.

Every time he pushed her away, she decided to patient with him. Hopes would rise high, anticipating his returning love for her. Several times she pictured how he would turn around to look at her saying how blind he had been to see the wonder that she was. Just four simple words, _I care about you_ would be enough to know if her heart was true to her.

Her hands rested along her comforter thoughts lost to her marvelous hero. He was the answer to everything. When her kingdom fell to ruins, no one could make her feel special or secure like Sonic did. So many times he saved her never asking for anything in return. Sunk down into the comforts of the mattress and feather stuffed pillow, her eyelids rolled down.

A sudden bang downstairs made her heart jump and her head stuck out of the sheets like a jack in the box. At this time of night only one thing could make that noise. It had to be Sonic returned. Running a marathon down the lengthily stairs, she marched into the living room. Partway down, she recalled another stranger in the household. Shadow never left the residence and should not move!

Racing faster, she reached her destination to find a collapsed hedgehog flat on his stomach. Once again he was pushing past his limits. No surprise there, she knew from past experience that tough men like Knuckles and Sonic would not take no for an answer. It was even possible that Shadow was worse than Sonic. The thought that he was seriously injured made that a frightening thought.

Why she should worry about him did not need questioning. If someone was lying down before her helplessly injured, she could not help but do what she could for them, even if they happen to be cranky like certain male hedgehogs. It was not as though Shadow could really do anything to her and her friends.

Reached down to scoop her arm under his, she supported his shoulder. Gentle fingers pressed into his chest fur. Another gash that she over looked was hidden under all the thick white chest fur and refused to heal. The blood smeared into her hand made that evident.

Horrified and beating herself for missing it, she escorted him back to the couch. She expected him to comment, growl, or even glare at her, but instead he looked groggy. The injury was affecting him horribly. With nothing done, he might not make it. The very thought made her cringe at the reality of the matter. Her pitiable attempts to bandage him might not be enough. He needed professional help, a doctor, or anything.

The spots where she bandaged him had nothing covering them. The one hand that she patched however still had its binding surrounding it. When she rested his limp form onto the couch, her hand carefully removed it. The cut was long disappeared.

The skinny removed cloth in her hand fell to the ground. _He left it on even though he did not need it but why would he? Did he not realise that it was no longer needed?_ One glance at the other ripped bandages told her otherwise. Blood still poured from those cuts.

Eyes widened at the out pour of his life's supply of blood she raced to the kitchen to snatch a ton of cloth bandages. He must be tended to, nothing else mattered. If she allowed him to bleed out because she was insufficient, she would never forgive herself.

Taking a damp cloth as a bonus companion, she knelt at her patient's side. Slightly conscious, Shadow moved his hand away from her. Surprised at his motion, she pressed one figure against his mouth, "Shh. Don't move. Go back to sleep."

Eyes partly open but not focused on anything, they peered pleadingly to the ceiling. They resembled ice cubes on the verge of thawing. Moistened and longing, they stared. A single word fell from his parted lips, "Maria…"

His heart had long refused to warm because his mind deep down knew there was something wanting to attack him emotionally. With it opening up through Rose's generosity, there was no telling what would happen to him. There was nothing for him to do other than to accept Maria's tragic death, death by cold gunshot.


	11. On the Trail of Destruction

Sonic and Tails arrived at the scene where he and Knuckles rescued the trapped citizens. His two tailed companion winded his tails together until he was able to spin them superfast. In doing thus, he was able to observe the frozen problem from above. Using a bird's eye view, he saw the entire frigid road.

Up above, the wreckage of vehicles was clearly visible as well as that of something he could not ascertain. Pieces of strange parts were scattered behind three tall maples. With as much breath as he could hold, the little fox cub cried, "Hey Sonic!"

The blue hero gazed skywards and waved at his little buddy. Cupping his hands to the sides of his mouth, Sonic called out his answer, "What is it, bro? Did you find something?"

In maple tree direction Tails' index directed his reliable friend to the metallic remains. Speed permitting him to quickly catch onto what caused Tails' excitement, the speedster sprinted to the scene. Amongst the ruins, Sonic recalled standing close to the vicinity. The sound of blasting resounded through his memory lane, as well as the dark figure lurking in the shadows. What reason this person had for aiding them was beyond him. For all he knew, this strange helper could turn out to be a rival of Eggman.

Eyebrows burrowed together in an attempt to unravel the confusion. No matter what he thought, he would never figure out who this person was until he met him in person. Until then, it was going to be a full out hunt.

Tails landed next to find him, both tails waging, "This machine looks like Eggman's. Sonic, did you know about this?" Picking up a broken twig, Sonic sniffed it. The stranger's scent was all over it.

He handed it to his friend, "You had better believe it. It was right around here when I heard someone take apart, Eggman's machine." The twin tailed genius took a glance back. Despite that there was an end to the machine, the road never thawed. Not to mention that it was growing colder by the minute. Something else was keeping everything in a Christmas ice land.

He then took to his Tornado parked on a cliff and dug through his gizmos. One of them was bound to do the trick. An occasional pause was given to examine certain objects, but so far none matched what came to mind. While his search commenced, Sonic zipped beside the modified aircraft and impatiently tapped his toes to the ground.

Just like old times, the hedgehog glanced at the timepiece around his wrist, "I'm waiting…" Tails was well adapted to his annoying attitude and paid no heed to the pressure. Sonic was naturally gifted in swiftness and was fast at everything not involved with homework. It would be difficult for him to understand how anything could be slower. Someday he _might_ learn what it meant to be patient, but right now there was not much that could be done to get that kind of information through his head.

At long last Tails found what he had long searched for, a temperature reader. It worked like a specialized thermometer and could tell him where it was coldest or hottest. With that help enlisted on their side, they could easily track the heart of the problem.


	12. Strange Culprit

Stalemate appeared to be the only progress made and that was certainly not Knuckles style. This woman was in his view for nearly fifteen minutes and yet he did not even catch anything of importance like a name. Surely there was something.

Enough time was wasted. All that was accomplished was gawking. From the way she stood so erect, she had the potential to be wickedly agile. Taking two more bold steps, his eyes narrowed as the words stuck out of his mouth, "Come here!"

The figure ducked his grab. Instead of her arm, his hand grasped a large leaf. She then performed a spin kick, and would have swept him off his feet had he not maneuvered away in time. Her fighting style was very unlike Rouge's. If he did not know any better, her martial art skills matched his.

She then leapt high in the air like a trained ninja and lifted her foot at him, ready to use his head as a landing pad. The danger was foreseen by him and dropped to the grass, he rolled away to safety.

The opportunity was presented to him. Within seconds, he leapt onto her back and knocked her over. Quickly standing on his feet, he took care to not lose grip. If a desire to interrogate someone existed in him, that desire would be immediately put to action. Intimidation added to his snarling, he demanded, "Alright, now that I have you here, let's get one thing straight. You are going to tell me everything like it or not. Had you told me who you were instead of using all that fancy footing, things might have gone a whole lot easier."

He reached for her hood to unveil her identity, but a high pitch squeal pierced the air. Both gloved hands released her on impulse to cover his sensitive hearing. Freed of his death like hold, she struck his side to force her full release.

Stumbling backwards, he watched as she performed more fancy moves away from his line of site. In her hand was black box decorated with several buttons. Her thumb was pressing down a bright red one, the source of the disturbing noise.

The echidna growled at that general direction, "Whoever you are, just you wait. I'll find you and when I do, questions will be answered." Rest seemed over rated and he decided to keep searching throughout the night. Pumped with adrenaline, he had no plans to pause.

While thoughts that he had seen enough for one night came, he saw two familiar friends. Tails and Sonic were walking, a strange site indeed. Sonic never leaves to go on strolls. The word _slow_ was hardly in his vocabulary. Things were a bit clearer when his purple eyes wandered onto a flat tablet device in Tails' hands. Both friends were peering at it interestingly.

Curious, he wandered to them, "What are you doing?" Tearing their eyes from the thermometer, Sonic said, "Hey, Knux," he pointed at the doohickey, "We are hunting for what is causing the road to stay so cold." Eyes blinking unbelievingly, he said, "This whole time that you were out here, you did nothing to stop Eggman?" Sonic defended his reputation, "I would not say that I did nothing. I got Tails here to help look for the source of the problem."

Tails nodded, "It looks like we are close too."

Forgetting about his mysterious encounter, Knuckles approached Tails from behind to take a look at the monitor himself. Unable to understand machines because he was raised without them, he hoped Tails would explain everything.

The search continued through the uncharted woods until it had hit a single cave. Sonic glanced back. The road that they initially started at was quite far away and yet whatever resided in this cave was the key to their problem.


	13. Creature in Ice, What Now?

The cave itself was colder inside. Surrounded by wall-to-wall ice, Sonic thought for sure he would never stop sneezing. To avoid standing in blue boy's line of fire, Knuckles the Echidna stepped aside. Tails shivered as his gismo laid out the readings, "Wow, it is cold in here! Where should we look, Sonic?"

Shaking as well as sneezing, the blue blur asked, "W—wha—what do you mean? You—you're the—the one w—with the th—thingy." Holding out his arms, Tails flipped his flat screen around and pointed at a certain spot, "The thermometer has lost battery life. It looks like we are going to be on our own."

Sonic waved the situation away, "Not to worry, kid." Thumb pointed against his puffed up chest, he assured his little companion, "Leave it to me and this chase will be a breeze." "Yah, but…" "Have I ever let you down before?" Fed with wholesome courage, Tails' waged his tails, eyes pleasantly closed and laughing, "Thanks Sonic!"

Ignoring current events, Knuckles was anxious to find the root of the problem and then smash it. That sounded easy enough. Walking down the dangerously slippery cave, he looked for any sign of something sinister enough to freeze everything. Eggman was so conceited. Whenever his symbol showed up, it was a dead giveaway that he was there.

So far nothing showed. Feeling ticked, the echidna slammed a punch into the wall. It had sent a quake throughout the entire formation. Sonic and Tails did their best to not lose balance due to their hotheaded friend. "Hey, Knux, easy on the hammering!" Sonic called out to him still holding out two arms.

Fist still positioned where he had left it within the icy wall, Knuckles' eyes grew at what he saw. "What's this?" he quietly muttered under his breath. Ripping his hand free, sending pebbles and small stones flying, he placed his other hand on the same spot. This time he was brushing the snow and soil away. Under the filth was another tunnel within the hollowed ice.

"Hey guys look at what I found!" The two buds turned away from Tails' malfunctioning gizmo to look at what caught Knuckles attention. Encased within the glassy ice was an old path. A daring smirk went on Sonic's face as he rubbed his runny nose. _This should a snap_ , he thought, eyeing the frozen wall. He backed up and energetically positioned his body, saying, "Let me take a whack at it!"

Tails and Knuckles turned around and their eyes grew and yelled, "Don't do it, Sonic!" Even Knuckles held out his hand as though to stop him. That of course would not stop the hedgehog. Sometimes communicating to a brick wall would be no different. The two friends had to fall to the floor to avoid being creamed. _That fool!_ Knuckles alarmingly thought _he will bury us alive._

Sonic began to saw through the wall, making the cave shake as he created a hole, apparently forgetting how Knuckles fists made the place unstable. Chunks of ice slammed onto the floor and pieces flew in several directions. An icicle loosened over Tails' head and Knuckles snatched his tails to send the little guy flying behind a boulder. The echidna then punched the ice to keep it away. Everything was become too dangerous and if Sonic does not finish or stop to think about the havoc he was creating, all three were done for.

A whirling sound flew through the air above the echidna's head, making him glance upwards. Chucked into the icy wall, a sharp edged boomerang sat lodged into its thick surface. Next to it was a long skinny rock poking through the surface. It did not look like it should match and when Knuckles' eye followed where the weapon was fired a black figured fled the scene. He moved his foot to follow but stopped when he heard Tails yelled and jump away from another ice chunk. First things first, the shaking must stop.

Another whoosh flew over his head and on impulse he covered his head. A couple pebbles tumbled onto his hair and he glanced up to the see the long rock moved down like a liver by another metal boomerang. The boomerang fell to the floor and the icy wall moved apart. The shaking sound made Hedgehog pause and listen. His ear moved up and down until he stepped out of his small tunnel. Within seconds, the wall had split open and they were face-to-face with the hidden tunnel. A low whistle came from Sonic's mouth with impressed green eyes. The three looked at one another and smirked. Sonic was the first to move, urging his friends to follow with hand single, "Alright, let's check this place out."

Silently the other two followed, Tails with an interested face and Knuckles with a suspicious one. They were not alone in this strange ice cave. Someone wanted them to enter the passageway unharmed. His purple eyes remained steady on the stony lever until he could no longer see it. If there was something like a lever that must mean this cave was made by someone. Nature after all cannot produce something like that. Unfortunately they do not possess the time to look.

Sonic zipped down the secret tunnel and called out to Knuckles and Tails, "Hurry up you slow moes! I'll be old and grey long before you reach me." Tails flew to catch up while Knuckles growled behind him. Tails thought that he said something about dumb hedgehogs and how he wished to ring his skinny blue neck but the two tailed kid shrugged it off. There was never a time when those two rivals would tick the other off.

"Hey, Tails check this out," Sonic called from a ledge. Tails landed next to him and looked stunned and at a loss for words. Knuckles shortly arrived after the fox made his landing and was almost just as shocked. Encased in more ice was a giant furry creature. White like snow, it was the size of a mansion, maybe taller. And here is where it gets even freakier.

Its lifeless eyes shot open.


	14. Ice Monster Identity Revealed

A young girl skipped along a grey hard floor with a huge smile on her face. Blue eyes darting from wall to wall, they finally paused on a black hedgehog. Hands behind her back, she laughed and pulled out a ball, calling out, "Catch!"

The red toy sprung out of her hands and neatly plopped into his coordinated paws. They held onto it as he rotated it in his hands. Never had he seen such an object and yet tossing it around was supposed to be fun. Looking at the blue eyed child, there was no turning down that sweet face.

Her blond hair blew in the wind and wrapped around her face. Holding out her hands, she called out, "Throw it." His eyes stayed focused on the little girl's face as she repeated the words, "Throw it...throw it...throw it..."

The words began to change to his name, "Shadow...Shadow...Shadow..." and the voice changed into another's. As all darkened, the little golden-haired child vanished into the darkness.

Shadow's eyelids opened and Amy stood in front of him, holding a silver tray. On it were a cup of hot chocolate and a plate of cheese sandwiches. A worried expression was on her face until he spoke, "Ma—Maria..."

A sad smile replaced her expression and she shook her head saying, "Hey, Shadow, here's your lunch. Ella made it. I hope you like it. If you find something wrong with it, feel free to tell me." Nothing was known about Shadow or his eating habits, so she had to keep her fingers crossed. Besides Ella was an excellent cook. That was a guarantee that it should be delicious.

He looked at her through sleepy eyelids and he muttered, "What are you up to?"

She blankly looked, "What do you mean? I just thought that you might be hungry. You never ate anything all day."

As she placed it on the coffee table, he closely watched her movements with his red eyes. When she stood up again, she noticed how uninterested he was in the food. He turned his head away and disappointed that he was grateful for the lunch, she turned to leave.

Before she moved an inch, she heard him say, "Who did the cooking?"

Stopped in her movements, she stayed where she was, "Ella did. She's the cook here," she turned to look at him, "Her cooking is really good when you give it a chance."

The hedgehog did not answer but instead looked at her. It made her feel like a fly under a microscope, and she shifted her feet uncomfortably. Those red eyes were bold and hard to defy when they make direct contact. Without emotion, they were frightening and could bring a person down to his knees. It brought shivers up and down her spine.

Why was he giving her such a hard time? All that she did was help him. She did not even threaten to hit him on the head with her mallet.

Now when she thought of it that was the treatment he gave to everyone else. All her life, she had never stumbled upon someone so cold. Was he truly wicked and black-hearted that nothing mattered to him?

She could ask herself millions of questions but she would never reach the answer. The only one who could tell was none other than Shadow. It was only a shame that he had no plans to open up. Her eyebrows knitted together and she looked up realizing that he was still watching her.

His eyes were filled with slight curiosity and his head moved above the pillow. Never had she made so much eye contact with someone.

Unsure what to do, she looked at the kitchen and said, "I'll grab some napkins," she awkwardly closed her eyes as she smiled with one hand in the air, "Whoever heard of eating without something to wipe your hands on?"

The patient on the couch raised an eyebrow, and as she entered the kitchen, his eyes moved down and saw a stack of paper napkins on the tray. He sighed with closed eyes and stood up. The wounds on his body were mostly healed, and he was more than able to walk.

As he came into the kitchen where she was, he saw her standing on a stool, having troubles reaching for a covered where the napkins were kept. Even though hedgehogs were shorter than humans, she was pretty short for a hedgehog.

It actually made him smile a little bit before entering. While she was stretching with all her might, something grabbed her sides and had lifted her high enough to reach. Looking down, her pink hair dangled by her shoulders as she stared at Shadow. He actually helped her. And here she was thinking that he despised her. Perhaps, deep down, he did not mind her so much after all.

He asked, "Is this high enough?"

Her hand took the box of napkins, and a grateful look possessed her when she answered, "Yes, it is perfect."

When he had set her down, they decided to return to the living for the rest of lunch. As he ate, he pointed at the food and asked, "You must be famished. Why not take a bite of this food?"

"Not hungry," she muttered, leaning against her hands.

A moment ago she felt as though she was at the top of the world, but at the moment, it seemed that Sonic had abandoned her once more. Several times whenever that happened she wished that he would at least ask her to come along instead of running away.

She has waited for that very special moment, when her Sonic would come and say, "You're the one who I have been waiting for, let's not waste another moment and be married."

But that moment never came. Shadow noticed the look on her face and realised that there was something tormenting her. Whatever it was she had never let anyone know about it. Perhaps someone had to ask her to talk about it, but how could such a feat be done?

She tried to smile, but that failed. It seemed that Shadow was going to see her depressed. He stood up and sat next to her, brushing her hair back, saying, "If there is anything upsetting you, it is probably best to not let it be so bottled up."

She stiffened and glanced at him, thinking Shadow is trying to help me? I don't understand it. It is such a switch from earlier.

Straightening her dress, she told him, "It's nothing to be worried about. I was just being silly."

"I should think not. Instead of giving me sad excuses," his hand slid under her chin, "why not tell me what is wrong?"

Unable to say no, she gave in to his smooth words, which seemed somewhat kind, "It...it…it's just that Sonic does seem to notice how much I care about him. Every time we meet, I try to talk to him, but all that he has done was push me away."

She came close to crying, but Shadow said, "Then stop pinning away for him."

"Hmm?"

"What makes you so sure that he cares about you the same way? Have some dignity and ask him about it." Realising that he was giving advice about something touchy feely, he turned around and said, "And that's all I have to say about it."

She began to smile a little bit and even giggled. Even though Shadow did not join in her stifled laughter, a light shade of red tinted his cheeks.

The trio was staring at Sonic's find. Unfortunately, it was not a friendly looking one. Not to mention it looked like it was ready to make them his next meal.

It reached out an arm and had swung it at them. All three had jumped over it at once, and Sonic did a single handstand on it. Flipping onto his rear to sit on it, he said, "Yahoo, yippee kaya!"

Knuckles decided that if faced with a dangerous looking beast, it is best to hit it and ask questions later. He rolled out of the way and punched the paw that had almost squashed him like a pancake.

Tails yelled out, "Look out, Sonic." Taking out a device, he said, "Alright, let's see what this baby could do." The tiny device he had pulled out fired a laser at the icicle over the monster's head. It made the monster distracted so then Sonic and Knuckles could attack it.

A boomerang was thrown through the cold air and had struck it in the shoulder. The three heroes turned their heads where they saw the hooded figure that Knuckles had seen earlier.

Knuckles narrowed his purple eyes with uncertainty, saying, "Her again?"

The mysterious girl looked at him and said, "Knuckles, you have to destroy it. I have the technology, but only you could use it by using your guardian powers."

Already suspicious, he jumped in front of her, "Okay, who exactly are you? First, you show up with identifying yourself, and then you help us get in here."

"I didn't think it was a good time to tell you who I was," she pulled her hood down, "my name is Julie-Su. Remember me?"

"Julie...?" he squinted his eyes at her until they widened, "Julie!?" He reached to grab her, "You were not dead like all the other echidnas?" He pulled her into a hug, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Her face softened, "Because I was told that you were dead. I didn't realise who you were until after I saw the first time. But when I saw where you were in the cave, I didn't want to get too close, because I thought the falling rocks would squish me."

He annoyingly glanced at Hedgehog, who was still fighting the enemy, "Yeah, you could thank Hedgehog for that one."

Realising that they were delaying everything, Julie stood up and said, "I guess I shouldn't make you wait too much longer."

"Ah, right. So, what is this thing that you were talking about?"

"Well, you see, this monster is really a robot that was created by the dark legion to destroy its enemies with brute strength and the cold, but Robotnik's machine runs on the same frequency. That must be what had woken it after all those years it has been shut down." She handed him a metal looking gauntlet, "When you use your guardian powers while wearing this, it will tell the robot to shut down and short out its main circuits."

Taking the device from her, he smirked, "Heh, thanks, Julie."

The echidna turned to where the fighting was, and tightening his grip, he glanced at Julie who nodded at him. Nodding back, he looked for the best place to attack. That arm was coming back again. Taking that perfect opportunity, he jumped up and gave a warlike cry as he landed a well-aimed punch at it.

Green electricity sparked and began to mess up the machine. Knuckles eyes went wide when he realised that it was not going to just short out. It was reading to explode. Taking Julie's hand, he yelled to his friends, "Let's go, this place is about to blow!"

Sonic zipped past, grabbing Tails and the couple and right when they stepped out of the cave, a large explosion roared from there. Sliding on the ice to a stop into the snow, Sonic looked back at the destruction. Fortunately, it only took some scenery and nothing too important like other people. The warmth was sure to thaw out everything.

Knuckles had caught sight of the setting sun, and he whispered to Julie, "I know there might not be much of our kind left, but would you like to see the island again? It's still a great place to live in, and the view is great."

She turned to him and hugged him in her joy, "Of course I would. It's all that I have thought of since we were separated."

Seeing that Knuckles probably wanted some time alone, Sonic waved and said, "Guess we will catch you later, Knux."

The echidna smiled and waved as he and Julie walked away, saying, "Yeah, I guess we will."

Tails and Sonic left the two and returned home. The two-tailed fox noticed the suddenly serious look on his best buddy but did not quite know what to ask. For some unknown reason, Amy was coming to the fox's mind.

Much thick fog would have made the trip hard to navigate through, but the aviator had an excellent trick up his sleeve. Taking a firm hold of the steering controls, he pulled on the throttle and lifted the plane over the heavy clouds. Nothing but clear skies stood in their way.

Clear patches in the clouds once in a while showed, and in one Sonic had thought for sure he recognised the location. Those green eyes of his grew into a happy surprise and satisfaction upon realising what he saw. It was their temporary home, the Thorndike residence in Station Square. There was only one thing on his mind that made his smile fall into a frown again.

Down below in the garage, Chuck, Chris's grandpa was playing with one of his gizmos. He had a faint idea of what it was going to be, but it was more so something that he and Tails decided to whip up on a dull day.

Much dirt could be clearly seen on a ragged piece of cloth that sat beneath his left elbow, which was busy avoiding the greasy machine next to him. So many projects were started by him and his fox partner that very little elbow room was left.

As his dark eyes steadily stared at the device, he thought first chance I get I'm getting a bigger table.

Loud buzzing outside, interrupted him and enkindled an interest in the old man's naturally curious mind. Peeking outside, he shielded his eyes from the glaring hot sun, and his jaw instantly dropped at the sight. It was X-Tornado, and it looked pretty close.

Static from a nearby work bench began to fill the room with its choppy sound, but the old timer knew who it was as it said, "Chuck, this X-Tornado, over."

Picking up the radio, the grandpa said, looking outside with serious face, "This Chuck, go ahead, X-Tornado."

"We are ready to land. Have the garage door ready."

"No problem," the human's hand clutched onto a black handle and pulled it back. The garage door lifted above the ground and the palm trees moved out of the plane's way, "Garage is ready and clear for landing."

"Thanks, Chuck. Sonic and I are on our way. Talk to you in a little bit."

Both friends had put down their communication devices, and Tails had skillfully steered his aircraft onto the driveway. Once it slowed to a halt and after the engine had been cut, Sonic hopped out of his seat and walked away, something which came to Tails as odd.

He worriedly watched his hero, while Chuck asked him questions about the flight. Sonic's hand slide along the rusting brown railing before reaching the door. His heartbeat fluttered so badly that he was sure the entire household could read what his mind had to say. It had to now or never.

Marching into the living room, he stopped and stepped behind the corner before he was seen. There on the couch, sat Amy as she conversed with Shadow. That was right. Sometime along the way home, Tails had mentioned that the ultimate life form had survived the fall from the fight on Ark.

While the two hedgehogs conversed, it seemed that Shadow was inclined to wrap his arm around Amy, but it also looked like he was hesitating.

Sonic's pointy blue ears perked up upon noticing and without a moment to lose, he zipped behind the two of them, saying, "Well, isn't this a nice setup, the setting sun," he raced around them, "the lit fireplace," the fireplace, which was out a moment ago because it was no longer winter, was suddenly roaring with a large flame, "and a dark room full of candles. Nice touch isn't it?"

Amy blinked in disbelief. If she didn't know any better, she would be saying that Sonic was trying to push her into liking Shadow. She and Sonic were lovers, weren't they?

Sonic brushed his hands, saying, "Well, now that you two were getting along so well with each other, I will just go this way and leave you alone."

Amy had immediately stood up and ran after Sonic, who had allowed her to catch up with him in the kitchen.

"Sonic," she had managed to call as she ran with her puppy dog face, "I—I don't...understand...don't you...love...I thought you..."

"Amy," he looked at her in such a way that she had felt compelled to listen no matter what she feared he had to tell her after all that time, "we need to talk. You're a great friend. I wouldn't ask anyone to replace you, but I don't think about you like that."

Her heart thumped, but oddly it did not shatter into a million pieces. Disappoint, however, could be easily seen. Sonic reached for her shoulders as he always did whenever he had saved her and wanted to tell her something important, saying, "But I don't want to see you hurt. You're like a sister, and I'm more than positive that a certain someone doesn't mind seeing you," he looked at Shadow, which made her blush and turned her head that way, "If you need to tell me anything, don't hesitate, and I'm really sorry that I can't give you what you really want."

Her eyes closed as she folded her hands, saying, "That's alright, Sonic. You are right, Shadow may not like many people, but he has been slowly warming up to me, and in an odd way that makes me glad."

She went to return to Shadow, somehow feeling happier than ever before, perhaps it was fate that a certain black hedgehog wandered to her doorstep.

Meanwhile, a couple just as happy resided on Angel Island. Knuckles and Julie sat next to each other, against the Master Emerald. Both had their hands touching as they eyed the passing clouds that the setting sun decided to paint, but that did not halt the cheerful last notes from a group of flying songbirds.

Julie admired it all in awe as a short gust swept her purplish pink hair and pink dreadlocks over her strong shoulders. They too were pink, but against the dying sunlight, Knuckles could have sworn that she glowed. It was only natural. Only happy people give off such radiance.

She smiled at him and said, "You know, years ago being the last of my species hardly entered my mind. We were so plentiful that the idea that echidnas would become extinct was weird, but right now, it seems like another life."

Knuckles nodded, saying, "It was another life. But these things happen, and there isn't very much that we could do about them aside from learning from our mistakes."

"That's true. The funny thing is, whenever I see someone suffering, I keep seeing myself in them, and it makes me want to help them. Like this black, red, and white hedgehog I had seen. He was in such rough shape that I didn't think he was going to make it, but he started to move. When he had collapsed, I tried to move him to a safer place where he would be taken care of, since I was only able to do so much from him. That was when I noticed what looked like a mansion from the ledge where I had found him. I had taken him there, but after I knocked on the door, my machine alerted me that the snow monster machine that you had to fight was starting up and had to be stopped. I saw the door open while I was running away, so I'm positive that he is alright."

Black, red, and white hedgehog...that sounds like...Nah, couldn't be. Could it? Man, you are full of surprises, Shadow. It seems that Sonic is going to have the shock of his life when he gets home.

Julie stopped talking when she noticed the face Knuckles had and tilted her head at him. A warm smirk came from him when he decided to wrap an arm around her and give her a light nuggie.

"Hey…hey…hey...Knuckles cut it...out..." squirming until she escaped, Julie decided to take her revenge on the evil looking guardian and quickly moved her fingers to his side.

It only worked for a bit as he had a funny face, biting back the loud approaching laugh, but Knuckles was able to tighten his muscles, which made it hard for her to do that. Julie, however, was hard to deter when she was determined to do something, and she glanced down at his shoes.

She muttered, "So you want to play hardball? Okay, then fine," her hands reached forward and snagged the snickers, "I won't go easy on you either."

"Huh? Hey, wait what are you…?" Knuckles words trailed into a very clear laugh as her quick and gentle fingers teased the nerves on his toes.

To be honest, he was unable to laugh like that in a long time and, needless to say, he and Julie became a great team as they guarded the emerald, cherishing each other's presence. Their adventures, however, were far from over. Eggman still enjoyed planning, Sonic and his team of fighters had more than enough members to foil his pathetic schemes and still come home in time for supper and TV, and the echidna was never again alone as the last of his species.


End file.
